Protective shields



Nov. 13, 1956 Jimnnefle Flam/1&-

INVENTOR.

United States Patent PROTECTIVE SHIELDS Jeannette Fleischer, Bloomfield, N. J. Application June 4, 1954, Serial No. 434,501 2 Claims. (Cl. 2-174) This invention relates to a protective shield, and more particularly to a shield for protecting the neck and part of the head of the wearer during hair-drying, as after hair-setting and permanent wave treatments, as in a beauty parlor or in the home.

It is customary after such treatments, particularly when professionally administered, to sit the customer under a hair drying dome and to apply heat to dry the hair, as well as often to set various chemicals which are applied to the hair. The heat is usually applied as a continuous and prolonged blast of hot air.

Due to the relatively high intensity of heat required to dry and set hair effectively and without excessive consumption of time, the customer is often subjected to considerable personal discomfort. It is customary for the operator to supply her with a towel which she adjusts and tucks around the back of her neck and over her ears in order to minimize the discomfort and pain. The towel is bulky and uncomfortable, does not fit the back of the neck, and sometimes increases the feeling of discomfort the drying operation is one long period of uncomfortable and futile effort to arrange the towel in a tolerable position. Each movement of the wearers head dislocates the relative position of the towel, thereby adding to the users discomfort by tending to compel her to assume an attitude of statuesque rigidity.

Unless some protection is used, the hot air applied to the back and sides of the head results in blisters or burns or rash on and about the nape of the neck and the ears.

The present invention provides a protective shield which may be comfortably and confidently worn during the hair drying operation and which does not become dislocated when the head .is moved.

the nape of the neck with heat from the skin. The sheet is provided with integral or attached pockets or straps on lobes or projections or other suitable ear-engaging elements. The user simply hangs these elements over her ears and permits the remainder of the shield to hang downwardly to protect the skin of her neck.

Although the invention may take various forms without departing from the spirit thereof or fromthe scope of the claims, certain present preferred embodiments of the invention are shown in the drawings, in which,

Figure l is a plan view of one form of shield, with the original pattern indicated in dotted lines; and

Figure 2 is a plan view of an alternative form of the invention, showing a different type of ear-engaging element.

Referring to Figure 1, a piece of material having heat resisting characteristics is cut in a generally quadrilateral shape as indicated at 1. The material is preferably flexible, although light rigid material may be used when contoured to conform to the head of the wearer. The body 2 of material may be of a textile fabric, for example asbestos or a mixture of asbestos woven with cotton or rayon or acetate or mixtures of threads or yarns of material Which will not transmit heat to the neck of the wearer. Plastics may also be used if not affected by the heat applied, which is generally above F., and in some instances considerably higher. Fabric or plastic sheets containing or coated with heat-reflecting or heat repellent material, such as metals, may also be utilized in the shield body 2. For example, fabrics containing metallic threads may be used and thin flexible metallic sheets or foils may be used as the primary material. Glass fibre fabric is suitable when provision is made, as by a lining of cotton, for keeping the fibres away from. the skin. Combinations of the foregoing and of other suitable materials may be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Due to sanitary codes and statutes relating to hairdressers and hairdressing establishments, it is preferable to have the sheet material either launderable and capable of being disinfected, or disposable. Plastic sheets and metallic foil, e. g., aluminum foil, sheets in many instances are highly useful in fulfilling these requirements. For example, a shield of metal coated paper may be provided according to the invention and may be disposed of after use.

In Figure l, the shield is provided with a cutaway edge 3 which is designed to fit below the hairline of the average user and which leaves on each side a. lobe or projection 5 which extends adjacent the ends of the sheet. It will be seen that the contour of the dotted area is the mirror image of the adjacent area, so that when thefold is made, the pocket may be formed without further cutting. The sheet is preferably originally cut or stamped in the contour shown in Figure 1, including the dotted areas on the lobes 5. In the embodiment of Figure l, the ends 4 of the lobes 5 are folded back upon them selves and fastened at the sides but not at their endmost thereby formed which may be fitted over the ears of the user to hold the shield in protective position even when the head is moved.

Sewn bindings or stitching may be provided along the ends 8 of the shield and at 9 along the nape cut-out. These bindings serve as the sides of the pockets which engage the ears. The pockets of course may be separately applied, if desired.

In Figure 2 a sheet in the contour shown. lobes 15 on the sides of 11 of suitable material 12 is cut Straps 14 are provided on the the nape cut 13, to provide earelastic material or may be of the same material as the shield body 12. The lower edge 16 of the straps is not attached to the sheet, in order for the upper part of the wearers ear to enter the ear-engaging element. The strap fits between the upper part of the ear and head to hold the shield in position. The upper edge of the strap 14- is preferably attached to the lobe but if the strap is relatively stiff, or elastic, such attachment may be dispensed with.

Bindings 18 and 19 may be provided as separate tapes, or folded edges of the fabric or plastic or foil as desired. These bindings may be utilized to hold the ends of the strap 14. The lower edge of the shield, 7 or 17, may be bound or unbound, and may be provided to extend as far down the neck of the wearer as is necessary for protection.

What is claimed is:

l. A protective shield comprising a sheet of heat resistant material, said sheet having a pair of lobes along one edge thereof, each lobe being folded upon itself and fastened in said folded position to form a pocket for tengagement with the upper part of the ear of the wearer,

central portion thereof thereby leaving a pair of projections adjacent the ends of said side, each of said projections being folded upon itself and fastened to itself along the side edges to form a pocket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Zaretsky July 6, 1937 Fairchild Feb. 28, 1939 Gribbin May 23, 1939 McInnis Dec. 19, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Great Britain Apr. 7, 1932 

